Be Called and Be Healthier: How Does Calling Influence Employees’ Anxiety and Depression in the Workplace?
- Wenyuan Jin1, Jialing Miao2, Yuanfang Zhan3,*
1 School of Management, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070, China
2 School of Entrepreneurship, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070, China
3 School of Management, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China
* Corresponding Author:Yuanfang Zhan. Email:
2 School of Entrepreneurship, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070, China
3 School of Management, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China
* Corresponding Author:Yuanfang Zhan. Email:
Received 06 August 2021; Accepted 27 September 2021; Issue published 20 December 2021
Abstract
Despite limited studies have found the negative relationships between calling and mental health symptoms, its
underlying mechanism is still unknown. Drawing on the conservation of resources theory (COR), this study
developed the resources model that explains the relationships between career calling, anxiety and depression,
and the underlying mechanism. With a sample of 628 employees from the two-wave survey, the theorized model
was tested. The results showed that career calling was able to decrease the levels of employees’ anxiety and depression, and two important resources (i.e., personal growth, and meaningful work) provided explanatory mechanisms for the relationships. The findings highlight the importance of spirituality in the workplace. Theoretical
and practical implications are discussed.
Keywords
Career calling; anxiety; depression; personal growth; meaningful work; conservation of resources theory
Cite This Article
Jin, W., Miao, J., Zhan, Y. (2022). Be Called and Be Healthier: How Does Calling Influence Employees’ Anxiety and Depression in the Workplace?. International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, 24(1), 1–12.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.